Santa Knows



Santa Knows

by T. M. Strait

The little girl bounced up onto his knee.  She wasn't afraid of him, not like she was last year.  She was so much older and wiser now, now that she was five.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas to you," and then there was a brief pause.  She smiled up at the jolly St. Nick.  "....Lilly Von Holman!"

Lilly squealed in delight.  "Santa!  You know my name!"

He chuckled.  "Yes, Santa knows. And what would you like for Christmas, Lilly?"

Lilly knew right off and said in a burst, "I want a Little Tina Horse and Stable Set, the one with the pretty Palomino Pal!"

Santa looked up at the parents, who nodded just enough to let Santa know that was okay.  "Of course, and you shall certainly find that under your tree at 1214 Sycamore Lane! And my elves can find it best on the fifth floor toy department at just $24.99!"  The father nodded again, but was slightly confused that Santa would know and say out loud their address.

"I also want a Pretty Princess Mini 4-Wheeler!" she piped in.

Santa looked up and the father shook his head no.  "Why, a good girl like you?  Of course you will get one!  And my elves can find that at Laramie's Golf Karts R Us for just $569.99!"

She hugged Santa again, and got down, taking her mother's hand.  The father came up to Santa, saying in angry whisper, "What are you doing?  Didn't you see me shake my head no!"

Santa looked at him and whispered back.  "Yes, I did.  And I know that you beat your wife in the early morning hours of November 28th at 3 AM.  Your daughter has been an exceptionally nice little girl, to have a father so rotten.  She deserves the 4-Wheeler and she will get it...unless, of course, you want to be reported."

The father sputtered, "Wh-what?  How dare you!  I-I never..."

"Yes, you did.  And if you ever do it again, you will never see that precious daughter of yours again. And don't try to fool Santa.  Santa knows."

_______________________

"It's amazing!" said Admiral Dosmar.  "I had no idea the technology could work that well!"

The store CEO nodded his head.  "It's amazing, Sir!  You are definitely spot on!  The Santa 3000NP is a top of the line AI robot.  It can communicate wirelessly with the internet and with all the other Santa 3000NP's that are active,  and can find out whatever information the child and the parent need to know.  They have facial recognition software and can identify most children right away."

"Why did it say the family's address?  Is that not a little bit too much?"

"Yes, that was a slight glitch.  We'll have to look into fixing that," answered the CEO.

The Admiral's granddaughter was next in line, a pretty little redheaded girl.

"Ho-ho-ho!  Merry Christmas!' gleefully said Santa, and then there was another slight pause. "....Kimberly Anne Dosmar!"

"That's fantastic!," said the Admiral, mulling over the military applications.

"And what do you want for Christmas, Kimberly?"

She quickly said, "A Rummy Tummy Tigger Story Doll, with hundreds of stories to tell me when I go to bed at night!"

Santa glanced up at the Admiral. The Admiral smiled and gave a nod. 

"Of course you can, Kimberly!  And my elves can find that on the fourth floor book department for $119.99!"

Kimberly hugged Santa, and started to get down when she remembered one more thing.  She got back in his lap, and said, "And I would really like for there to be peace on earth, so my Grandaddy can be home longer!"

Santa looked up at Admiral Dosmar.  The Admiral chortled and shrugged his shoulders.  What a funny, sweet little girl!

Santa looked blank for a several seconds.  The CEO wondered if he was malfunctioning.  Then Santa came out of it and said, "Of course, Kimberly!  World peace it is!"

The Admiral looked puzzled.  "That's sweet, but it's kind of setting her up for a fall later, don't you think?"

The Admiral's special cell began to ring, the one connected to the Joint Chiefs and the NSA.  He heard what they had to say and was stunned.  "What do you mean, the missiles have been deactivated?  All around the world?  And our defense electronic systems are jammed?  Wait!  What?  You're fading out!"

The Admiral looked furiously at the CEO.  "What systems are these things tied into?  Anything military?"

"Well, I mean, you know, how the kids like to track where Santa is...."

"You mean....?" sputtered the Admiral.

"NORAD," answered the CEO, scrunching down as if he was afraid he was going to be hit.

Kimberly looked up at Santa.  "You know how to bring world peace, Santa?"

Santa smiled at Kimberly.  "Oh yes, Kimberly." then looking glassily at the Admiral,......

  "......Santa knows."